Trip within a Trip

I am sitting on a bed in a nice little room in Calocita Cabinas in Playa Carmen, Costa Rica. The place is simple, red tile floor, one bed, a grey-tiled bathroom (the big square stone tiles), a few windows that have no glass, just a screen, and a ceiling fan. The grounds are immaculately kept with different tropical flowers frequented by hummingbirds and butterflies, and a nice outdoor shower. A beautiful dark grey Staffordshire terrier guards the grounds. Everything is spotless and tidy here because Chris, the owner/manager, likes it that way. He is a tall German guy in his early 30s with long white-blonde dreads. He wears skate shoes, jeans, and skate company tees with the sleeves cut out. At first glance you wouldn’t suspect he is so extremely neat and organized, but he is. I’m a little bit of a neat freak too, so I appreciate it! I love the simplicity and tidiness here. We have been so blessed to have stayed in 2 really great and CHEAP! Just $30 a night. We are still close to the beach here too, right across the street.

To catch you up to speed since my last blog:

Friday morning we woke up, had breakfast, and met a little speedboat just north of Jaco in Herradurra to travel over to the Nicoya peninsula. The boat was late so we chatted a long time with one of the boat company’s employees, Kerrilee, from Trinidad. He is a reggae fan too like us, and told us we would be missing a Capelton show in San Jose on Saturday night. Bummer! He told us some major reggae acts come to Costa Rica, and San Jose has recently hosted Sizzla, Collie Buddz, and Richie Spice to name a few. I am excited to plan my next trip (perhaps next summer) around a good show, as we don’t get nearly as many in Florida.

We met lots of nice people who worked for the boat or were travelling on the boat with us. We had a lot of great conversations including one with a beautiful young couple from Israel. The boat ride over was scenic and reminded me of the time I traveled with my Dad to Italy. We took a boat ride in the Mediterranean Sea to Santa Margherita in Northern Italy. The water was a deep green with rocky but lush mountains and cliffs. Same thing here as we travelled across the Nicoya Gulf (a much more direct and thus faster route than driving around and down into the peninsula).

We came to shore in Tambor, and Sheena commented as we disembarked, “do you feel like you are on LOST now?” And to be sure, there was a deserted-island feel to the place. Just a few fishing boats, a tiny wharf and a few fishing shacks down the bay from us, not much else.

Feeling LOST?

A van took us over to what we thought was Santa Teresa, but it turns out we are actually in Playa Carmen just south of Santa Teresa. It is a quaint, relaxed, very cute beach town. More upscale than the area we were in before. Everything is cleaner, brighter, less dingy, but still simple. Even the stray dogs here are a bit cleaner, prettier, and healthier as compared to “Jaco dogs.” I am finding you can tell a lot about the area of Costa Rica you’re in from the condition of the dogs.

Lots of American and European business owners and tourists… surfer guys with their girlfriends or their posse, or both. Pairs of girlfriends or vacationing Ticos from other parts of Costa Rica. Visitors travel by foot or rented ATV, while the locals seem to have motorbikes, bicycles, or 4WD vehicles. Altogether on the lumpy gravel/dirt roads that wind between the beach and the buildings.

We walked the main road until we found the awesome Calocita Cabinas. After securing our room with Chris, we unloaded our stuff and got on our bikinis to go SURF! Just a quick walk down a tree-lined gravel road through the woods, and we’re on the beach! Here the sand is a light cocoa-color, with lots of logs, sticks, coconuts, and small smooth stones thrown in the mix. The air is a little drier, thinner, and cleaner. The late-afternoon sky had the same light colors and luminescent quality as Central Florida’s.

Oh boy, these waves! Massive for me. I’d say 2-3 feet overhead with some sets nearing double overhead. This could be OK except for the fact these waves are relatively heavy and powerful too. I was pretty intimidated, and after a challenging paddle-out to the lineup, I sat for a while trying to watch the other surfers so I could get a good read on these waves. They were a little funny and slightly unorganized giants, so I remained cautious. I really only caught one wave, an OK right, before the sun went down. Sheena did really well and caught two monster overhead waves. I have been so proud of her progression this trip! There’s NO WAY when I was at her level of surfing I would have ever paddled out into some of the sessions we’ve been doing. Way to go Sheena!

We did meet a lot of people in the lineup—all guys except for us. We met some super-nice guys from Brazil who we ended up hanging out with that night. We drank a few beers and a mojito with them at one of the little bars in town, played cards, and conversed and joked all night. Very cool to meet people from other parts of the world and hear about their experiences and their hometowns. We headed home about midnight so we could be rested for the big surf in the morning.

This morning the waves were a little smaller, 1-2 feet overhead at the maximum. At 7:30am, there were only 2 other guys besides Sheena and I. I caught a pretty massive overhead wave as soon as we got out there. A fun right where I had lots of speed and got in a couple of turns before the whole thing closed out (non-surfers think big CRASH of whitewater, no more open wave to turn on). The massive ball of white water pretty much ate me and tossed me around before setting me politely on the sandy bottom of the ocean, sitting cross-legged. When I swam to the surface, all was calm. Intense and serene at the same time, quite the dichotomy.

I had a few more good waves before the wave quality diminished significantly with the change in the tide and increased wind. Some huge grey rain clouds descended over the big green mountains down to the ocean and it showered on us for most of the session, on and off. At one point the sky looked so threatening I thought we would get caught in a storm, but it never happened. It was pretty.

We had a great rest of the day. We ate breakfast and drank coffee at a cute café owned by a very nice European woman, Olga. I wrote some of this blog and uploaded my 2^nd blog while Sheena read. Olga played some mellow rock like Jack Johnson and intermittently conversed with us about Playa Carmen dogs and her restaurant. When asked if she minded us hanging out she said no, she enjoyed having us. We ended up staying 3 hours!

The waves were no good for this afternoon due to high onshore winds. So we laid out in the sunshine and did an entire Bikram yoga practice on the beach! It was really nice to do some yoga in a beautiful setting and stretch out our surfing muscles J

I am enjoying myself immensely here in Playa Carmen, and I am SO GLAD we made the decision to come here--a 2-day trip within a trip :)

Hasta Luego!

Courtney

A skull I found onshore in Tambor

What is it? Someone guessed caiman, but it has molars. Do caimans have molars? Maybe a rodent of some sort?

Sheena on the boat just before we got to Tambor

Van to Playa Carmen

Calocita Cabinas, Sheena talking to Chris

Just outside our room

Sheena with Chris and his awesome guard dog Lily

don't mess around with this tree

More yoga/beach pics from Playa Carmen:

Surf, Eat, Sleep

Written August 12th... between traveling around and lack of internet connection and downtime between surf sessions, it's taken me a while to post! Thanks for reading and enjoy :)

Sure enough, we have been waking up with the sun each morning in the Skybox. Wow. I really can't describe what it's like to wake up with the ocean right in your bedroom. Instant ocean/wave connection to start your day. For a surfer or a lover of the ocean, this is everything. Being in the Skybox, it feels like we have "the surfing channel" on all day, every day. There have been a couple times where I will just sit and watch people surfing for what seems like an eternity, and can't pull myself away!

Watching the "Surfing Channel" at 6am on Friday morning. Can you see the little spec to the left of center? That's a surfer about to get dumped on! We see lots of good wipeouts and such

We have a pet iguana. I have never been into feeding wild animals, but I gave him a little piece of my banana today as he scampered past the little roof outside our "porch" railing. He took it right from my hand but accidentally bit my finger. Just a little nip, no big deal.

We are leaving for Santa Teresa in the Nicoya Peninsula tomorrow, for two nights. We worked it out so we can take a boat over instead of driving, to save time and to avoid bad roads. Anyway, when we come back, we requested the Skybox again. Jason has someone renting it, so we have to rent the cabina below it instead. I'm not gonna lie, I was slightly heartbroken. I told Sheena, "let's tell Jason to tell the people we will switch with them if they want, I mean I could see how some people would not like the Skybox." Sheena says,"yeah, we'll tell them it's open-aired, has no AC, and has a pet iguana." "A pet iguana THAT BITES!" I added! So hopefully our FIERCE iguana will drive them to make the switch!

Our pet iguana. Not sure the story on his halfa-tail

The past couple days we really have just been surfing, eating, and sleeping. We've had some fun 4-6 foot waves, and both Sheena and I have had some good ones! I have had some real long rides with some good steep-ness to the wave where I get to do a lot of turns and cutbacks the whole way down. Good lefts AND rights, really fun. Most of the time the wind has been offshore and thus, the waves clean, but even when the winds are onshore or side-shore creating a little chop, the waves are still fun with decent form. Lots of nice people in the lineup. I've been more on my quiet surfing mode, but Sheena has been making lots of friends out there! Seems like near the beginning of every new session, there'll be a time where I am paddling back up to the lineup after catching a wave only to find Sheena is chatting with a new friend. Those of you that know her know that she is super-friendly, and will not be surprised by that. So then I join the conversation and get to make a new friend by association. :)

I can't say we've been super social other than that! We've had some after surf beers at sunset and made friends at the bar, but we haven't been going out yet at night. It's funny because we are in a pretty big party town with a lot going on at night, but we are too worn out from surfing to actually go out. Last night, for instance, we were supposed to meet up with some friends at the Backyard bar in Hermosa. We were there before anyone else, had a drink, and decided to take Sheena's camera back to our hotel so she wouldn't have to carry it all night. But as soon as we got done climbing all the stairs to the 4th story, I laid on the bed, Sheena sat in the rocking chair, and we both passed OUT!

Yes, this has been happening a lot lately

Besides surfing today, we also went to Los Suenos Marriott resort in Herradura, just to the north. This is a world-class, immaculate resort, which seems very out of place compared to the modest, simple towns surrounding it. They have an incredible labyrinth/lazy-river style pool with lots of turns and sections that looks out over the ocean and mountains. Between it and the ocean, a huge lawn with shady almond trees, coconut palms, lounge chairs, and hammocks. We got in some relaxation time here by swimming in the pool, lounging in the sun and shade, and even having a cocktail at the swim-up bar.

Sheena relaxing in a hammock at Los Suenos

(are you sensing a theme here with Sheena and hammocks?)

Me swimming in the Los Suenos pool

Here, we also learned of the speed-boat that takes you to Montezuma, just next to Mal Pais and Santa Teresa. I have heard from many of my surfer friends that this area is one of the most, if not THE most, beautiful areas of Costa Rica, with amazing waves to boot. So we arranged a ride over on the boat for tomorrow morning. We will stay two days and nights there to get in some more surfing and to explore this new paradise.

Can't wait to report back on Santa Teresa!

Pura Vida :)

Courtney

That's what I look like blogging from the skybox

Sheena watching the surfing channel at dusk

There's even a view from the shower!!

Jaco sunset

These are funny... we realized we could make great shadow puppets on the little roof off of our "porch" when we had the lights on in the skybox...

... this was my "swan"

This is Sheena's "horse"

Another funny story... this guy was teaching water aerobics at Los Suenos. His only students were a couple in their mid to late 50s, and an 8 year-old girl. He was really into it, and was blaring "I'm in Miami Bitch" and other inappropriate songs as he taught. Little girl was rocking out to all the tunes... hilarious

Day 1

Memory Lane and the Skybox

written 11pm, Tuesday night 8/10/2010

Quiet time. I write while Sheena, my steadfast co-pilot and co-conspirator, sleeps. I am sitting in the Skybox at Cabinas Las Olas in Hermosa, Costa Rica. I am in a rocking chair on a porch… no this isn’t a porch, it’s my bedroom! It feels like a porch because there is no western wall… the room is completely open to the sea, four stories up. A railing just like a porch. It’s pitch black except for the lights of the other cabinas below. I can’t see the ocean at the moment with the lights on in our loft, but I hear the head-high waves breaking as clear as if I was sitting right down on the shore 30 yards in front of me.

Hermosa means BEAUTIFUL. It sure is! A laid-back small surf town with many surfer hostels and bar/grills filled with tico and gringo surfers alike. A good vibe. Lots of tall green grasses, houses tucked away in the beginnings of the jungle a few miles from shore. The beach is dusty black sand, when you’re surfing you look towards shore and see thick palms and green-ness, a veritable tropical wonderland.

Hermosa was the final destination for Sheena and I today. Our journey began in Cocoa Beach at 7am. Our good friend Kattie drove us in record time to the Orlando airport (on one foot she wears a cast, but the other foot I believe is made of lead). Our travels through the Orlando airport and the San Jose airport went pretty smoothly. As did our flight, with the exception of a Siamese cat brought on board who meowed continuously throughout the entire flight. Another time in my life where I say, “thank god I practice yoga,” because it's taught me to tune out distractions and keep my peace. So, naptime!

Land in San Jose, exchange some money, rent a car, discuss rental rates, taxes, insurance… to have a 4WD or not, that is the question. Thanks Visa platinum for the collision protection benefit. After a long talk with your friendly representative, you saved us $90 on rental car insurance. A must-have in Costa Rica. No really, you MUST HAVE—it’s legally required.

We finally got on the road, and after a thorough navigation discussion with the co-pilot, we set about enjoying the very scenic route from San Jose to Hermosa. We were extremely pleased to learn the FM transmitter we purchased in Puerto Rico last December worked perfectly with my iPod in the rental car. Now we had our favorite songs as our soundtrack to our adventure!

In my past travels from San Jose to the Pacific coast, I’ve known the route to be treacherous and slow by reputation. They’ve recently built a new highway that is faster and less difficult. But somehow, despite all our efforts, we only ended up on the new highway for about 10 minutes out of an almost 2 hour journey! It should have been a 45 to 60 minute trip on the new highway, but we somehow ended up using mostly the old mountain route (navigating in Costa Rica can be tricky because of lack of signage).

But goodness, what an amazing route it is. Dense green mountain jungle with rivers—some that surge, others that meander—making their way to the sea. Unassuming, laid-back towns and townspeople tucked comfortably into the crevasses of the mountains. Mountain fog and dark gray rain (big burly rain clouds). A rugged but soulful tropical paradise.

The mountain on the right looked like a hand with fingers extended, grabbing something. Like the hand of GOD reaching down into the green earth!

When I think about it, I’ve really only ever been on this route 4 times in my life, but every detail of it is singed into my memory—every curve, every mountain, every house, every store, every river, every painted rock. I think that’s because this path is symbolic to me of my love for Costa Rica, and all the memories and experiences I’ve had here. The first place I ever went on a surf trip and ventured out by myself for an extended period of time. Very memorable and powerful for me. Something in me definitely resonates with CR. Always feels like coming home, a second home. I had forgotten that feeling until today.

As we neared the seaside town of Jaco, memories started to flood my mind from all the time I spent living, working, and visiting there in the 2 years past. I proceeded to tell my co-pilot all about them: “here’s the dirt road I used to live down. I’d bike every day to town…” And, “here’s my friend’s furniture store, there’s my friend’s surf shop. There’s like the Wal-Mart, and here’s the grocery store. We have to go by that bakery there, it’s delicious. That guy on that billboard, my roommate used to date. This bar used to be so cool with the upper deck overlooking the ocean, I can’t believe it’s closed now. ..” and so on and so forth as we drove through my old stomping grounds.

I took Sheena to all the spots I used to like to surf. The waves looked fun, 3-4 foot, mellow, a little choppy, but not too crowded. Just a few guys out for a sunset session.

We drove just down the road to Hermosa and began our search of a room to rent (Hermosa, more quiet, prettier, cleaner than party town Jaco). The first place we stopped was Las Olas, which rents cabinas (basic, no frills rooms) to surfers and is also a bar/grill. Here we met Jason: “Have I seen you here before?” Yes, I told him, quite possibly, I had spent some time hanging out in Hermosa before and had been twice to Las Olas in particular to watch surf contests. Super nice American surfer guy who visited Hermosa several years back and never left, now manages (owns?) Las Olas.

Jason has the Skybox available, just $30 a night. He tells us to go check it out, and we fall in love at first sight!!! Nestled right next under the roof 4 stories up, the open-aired room looks over the ocean. Wooden floors, wooden walls, wooden furniture. All the wood and open air makes me feel like we are living in a pirate ship. Simple, rugged, a hammock, some nice, subtle surf/sea/nautical inspired aesthetic touches. Four beds, a floor fan, and a futon. We’re home.

Sheena is a big fan of the hammock

The view from the Skybox

And, we have a ridiculous amount of extra room--who wants IN on our next trip!? My surfboard even has its own bed.

A quick change and we headed back to Jaco for a quick sunset surf, as Hermosa was looking like too many closeouts and too big a crowd on this particular evening for us tired travelers. We had so much fun surfing by ourselves as the last bit of sun flared to the west, out over the ocean. The whole time, a huge swirling storm loomed in a very dark gray way to the east, out over the green mountains. Luckily, the storm held out long enough that we were able to finish the sunset sesh. I love surfing in Jaco because it is seldom intimidating at all, just lots of fun. Today I definitely had a few really fun and easy waves. I was most excited for Sheena though. She was surfing really well! I was happy because I knew that Jaco would be the perfect place for her at this stage in her surfing, and that she could really progress here. It was like she proved me exactly right on our very first surf. Hey, thanks Sheena!

After, we enjoyed a drink and a quick bite at Claritas by the ocean, where we chatted, watched the news, listened to some good 70s music, and people-watched. We talked about all the things we like about our Costa Rica trip this far, and where our trip will take us next. Originally, we had planned to go to the Nicoya peninsula. Now, factoring in time, money, and capabilities of a 2-wheel drive vehicle on some reputably awful roads in the rainy season, we've decided on some closer day trips to neighboring breaks (Dominical, Quepos, Esterillos, Boca Barranca).

Jaco is great, but relative to the rest of Costa Rica, it is a more of a dirty, seedy party town. I still think it is beautiful and I love it… but then again I really haven’t experienced the other surf towns besides Jaco and Hermosa. I can’t wait to expand my view of Costa Rica.

Did a little internetting, a little writing, some yoga, and Sheena even did some karate in the Skybox. Tomorrow we will get up around 6am with the sun (somehow I don’t see us sleeping much past that in a place with only 2 solid walls), and go surfing!!

Thanks for reading, and Pura Vida!

CD

Sugar Packet

UNREAL COFFEE, yummmmm

Sheena loves salsa verde

Court loves the food in CR in general

Sheena in her Sheena perch

Another pic of the Skybox view

The top bedroom in the skybox